. >> hundreds of gun control advocates protested yesterday in new york and other cities. >>> some in congress on sunday on reaching a deal for the white house to avoid reaching the fiscal cliff. the president and congress on christmas vacation. it will be thursday before talks resume to try and prevent the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts from taking effect january the 1st. andrew spencer with the very latest from washington. >> reporter: some republican lawmakers say president wants the country to fall over the cliff. >> we were going over the cliff before. that's what the president wants. >> john boehner failed to get vets in on thursday. that would have raised taxes on people earning more than a million dollars a year. on friday speaker painer and the president left with no deal, each making a parting pitch. >> i asked leaders of congress to work toward a package that prevents a tax hike on middle- class americans, protects insurance for 2 million americans and laze the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction. >> the president's -- it would hurt jobs.